[Greenbuilding] cistern questions

[Clarke Olsen]

I am using a 1000 gal. "low boy" septic tank as a solar reservoir. I coated the inside with a waterproofing compound, 
too soon to report on. I doubt that a tank would be a reliable foundation: looking at one, we would all feel it could, 
but those 4" walls were not designed to support much. If you came up with a way to distribute the load perfectly...

Clarke Olsen
clarkeolsendesign.com
373 route 203
Spencertown, NY 12165 
USA
518-392-4640
colsen at taconic.net




On Aug 2, 2012, at 10:48 AM, Sacie Lambertson wrote:

> All, we have been thinking for a long time now about adding a 3-seasons room to our house.  Given the extreme drought we currently experiencing, I've had some not-so-idle thoughts about putting a cistern under it when we do.  I have several question about this possibility and wonder if structural-knowledgeable people on this list could respond please.
> 
> 1.  Cisterns in this area are built by the same people who do septic tanks, ie of concrete.  Could I use such a tank to support a room above?
> 
> 2.  Our house is on a gentle slope; the end of this addition will be about 3-4 feet above grade.  If we put the overflow drain lower than the top, do I need to worry about insulating the walls of a cistern? ie there would be room for expansion.  Freezing is normal in our NE Kansas winters.
> 
> Our current in-ground cistern, 1800 gallons, filled up after only a 1.5 inch rain.  Our many shed roofs drain to it.  We would divert one these to the new cistern, plus that of the room above.   A new cistern would not have as large a drain plane as the existing one, but a couple good rains would undoubtedly fill up too.
> 
> Thanks,  Sacie
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